A Midnight Rose
by Cocacoriola
Summary: Lily hates James, but he loves her. Then it's the other way around. Now they're friends and no one knows what's going on. Meanwhile, Lily has a secret admirer, and she wants to find out just who it is.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone. I haven't been writing a whole lot lately, but I really wanted to do a new story. So, here it is. I don't really have a plan for it, so I'm just going to go with whatever I can think of. This probably won't be one of my greatest stories...**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter One**

I pulled a yellow shirt over my head and stretched, before picking a brush up off my desk and running it through my hair. My trunk sits in the corner. It's been packed for a week, proof of how ready I was to return to Hogwarts. After pulling my hair up into a ponytail, I hurried downstairs, where my mother was putting pancakes on a plate for me. I slid into my seat and grabbed a fork. My sister, Petunia, was already seated at the table, eating her breakfast. "Pass the syrup, please," I said. She looked up and glared at me, but pushed the syrup towards me. I still had to stretch for it.

When I finished eating, my mom grabbed her keys and I lugged my trunk downstairs. "Bye," I called to Petunia. She ignored me and disappeared into the living room, where I heard the television click on. For a seventeen-year-old, she didn't do much. I rolled my eyes and followed my mom outside, where we shoved my trunk into the backseat of the car, and I crawled into the seat next to hers. At the station, she turned the car off and opened her door. "Mom," I groaned.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm sixteen now. I think I can manage to get myself to the train, thanks," I said. She laughed as I got out of the car, and I went around to hug her. "I'll miss you."

"Oh, I'll miss you too, Lily," she said. "Have a good year."

"See you at Christmas," I promised. I opened the door to the backseat and pulled my trunk out. Waving goodbye to my mother, I wheeled it into the station, where I headed for Platform 9 ¾. It took me only seconds to pass through the barrier, and then I was standing in front of the Hogwarts Express. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen, having been away from my favorite place in the world for so long. I missed my parents like any other kid, but Hogwarts was the most fun I had ever had in my entire life.

I picked up my trunk and hauled it onto the train. I wandered down the hall, looking for a compartment. When I found an empty one, I left my trunk on the seats and then went back out onto the platform. I looked around, trying to find my friends, Natasha, Claudia, and Karen. I heard someone call my name, but it definitely wasn't one of my friends. "Lily!"

I'm almost afraid to turn around. I closed my eyes and prayed that he would go away. It's hopeless, because he came over and wrapped his arms around me. It was all I could do to keep from shuddering. "Get off me," I said, shoving him away. James Potter is the most annoying person I have ever met.

James puts on a wounded expression. "Lily, I am hurt," he said. He wiped away a fake tear.

I rolled my eyes. "Please," I said. "Just go away."

"Fine," James said airily. "I'll see you later." He winked. This made me want to throw up. James walked away and I was free to continue looking for my friends. I finally found Claudia over by the platform entrance. We squealed and hugged each other like any other group of teenage girls would, though I felt like I was in some sort of stupid teen movie the entire time. Of course I was happy to see her, I hadn't seen her all summer, but still, the feeling was a bit overwhelming.

After only a few minutes, Karen and Natasha materialized, and we all hugged. The feeling of being in a movie increased, but I pushed it away. "Come on," I said to them. "Let's go get seats. I saved us a compartment."

They followed me to the train, where we ran into James again, this time with his best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Remus I got along with quite well, but I could stand Sirius about as much as I could stand James. In other words, not at all. "Remus," I said, nodding. "Nice summer?"

"It was pretty good," Remus said, in his quiet voice. I ignored Sirius and James and moved on, into the train, but I could hear Karen behind me, greeting all three of them. She had no problems with any of them. I always felt slightly betrayed, but at least Claudia and Natasha hated James and Sirius as much as I did. We pushed our way down the hall of the train, searching for the compartment I had saved for us. I let out a sigh of relief when we got there and it was still empty. We entered and sat down, making ourselves comfortable.

"What are we suppose to do all day?" Karen groaned. She hated the train ride to Hogwarts. She got bored easily.

"Eat?" Claudia suggested. "Play games?"

"What kind of games?" Natasha asked, her head tilted to one side. Her curtain of black hair fell over her shoulder.

Claudia shrugged. "When was the last time we played Truth or Dare?"

I laughed. "That is so sixth grade," I said, but Natasha's blue eyes twinkled. "I think it's an awesome idea," she said.

"Who are we suppose to play with?" Karen asked. She twisted her honey blond hair into a bun on the top of her head, then pulled her glasses off. She hated wearing them, and I was surprised she'd left them on for so long. She stuck them in her pocket and then leaned back.

"How can you even see?" Claudia asked. She pinned her curly brown hair back with a barrette and then pulled it over her shoulder, so it was out of the way.

"It's not _that_ bad," Karen said. "I only really need them to read."

Natasha changed the subject suddenly, grinning. "We could always play with the boys."

"What boys?" Karen asked sarcastically, but I knew exactly who Natasha was talking about.

"No," I said firmly. "No way. Count me out."

"Oh, come on Lily!" Natasha pleaded. "It would be fun. Just this once?"

"Never," I snapped.

"Are we talking about James Potter?" Claudia asked, narrowing her brown eyes. I nodded, and she immediately agreed with me. "No. No way."

"Why not?" Karen asked. "It would be fun."

"No." I shake my head. "It wouldn't be."

Karen put on a pleading face, and she clasped her hands together. "Please?" she asked sweetly. "I'll be your best friend." This was a joke between the four of us, something we'd been saying for years, since we first met each other.

I sighed. I hated myself for doing it, but I gave in. "Fine. But I'm not speaking directly to either of them."

"I'm sure they'll be so disappointed," Claudia said sarcastically. "Lily, how could you? We can't stand them."

"I know." I turned to Natasha. "Since when did _you_ enjoy their company?"

"Well, we're older now," she said. "They've grown up."

"James Potter will _never _grow up," I said. They ignored me. Natasha stood up. "I'll go find them," she said.

She left and I relaxed in my seat. I didn't have long though, because Natasha would be back with James, Sirius, and Remus soon. I wouldn't have a moment of peace after that. Usually I liked to read on the ride to Hogwarts, examine my school books a bit, so I had a general idea of what was in them before class started. This would be impossible today.

The train began to move before Natasha returned with the boys. I stared out the window, watching the station fall away behind us, getting smaller by the second. I rested my head against the cool window of the train, feeling a headache coming already. Just the thought of being around James made my head hurt. I regretted agreeing with Karen and Natasha, but I knew they would have brought the boys against my will. I might as well consent to their idea, rather than fight against it and make everything worse.

I heard them come in before I saw them. "Good morning, ladies," James said smoothly. He dropped into the seat next to mine. I lifted my head and glared at him. "Lily." He smiled.

"James." I grimaced and turned away. I noticed that Sirius had positioned himself next to Karen, while Remus stood rather awkwardly by the door. I shoved James off the seat, and he fell to the floor. "You can sit with me, Remus," I said sweetly, smiling at him. I ignored James, who was glaring at me from the floor. He stood up, brushed his clothes off, and sat down next to Natasha. Remus smiled kindly at me, and sat down beside me.

"So what are we here for?" Sirius asked from Karen's side.

"I told you," Natasha said. "We're going to play Truth or Dare."

"Isn't that a little sixth grade?" Remus asked.

"Thank you!" I cried. "See?" I asked my friends. "I'm not the only one."

"I think it's a brilliant idea," James said. He glared at me again. Obviously he was still burned from my shove.

"Fine, whatever," Claudia said. "Who wants to start?" I could tell she was starting to warm up to the idea of the game. Was I the only normal one around here?

"I think I'll start," Sirius said with a wolfish grin. This worried me a little. Anything that made Sirius happy could not possibly be good. He glanced around, and his gaze landed on Natasha. "Truth or dare?" he asked her.

Natasha turned red and said, "Truth."

Sirius' grin widened, if that was possible. "All right," he said. "Who is the first boy you ever kissed?"

"What kind of question is that?" I objected. "This is stupid."

"Just let her answer the question," Karen said, sticking up for Sirius. Obviously I'd seen it coming.

Natasha had gone even redder, if that was even possible. "Bobby Yarsh."

Claudia let out a bark of laughter. "Are you joking?" she asked. "_Bobby_?"

"Yes," Natasha said defensively, while James and Sirius rolled around on the floor, laughing. "What's wrong with Bobby?"

"Nothing," Claudia snickered.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Okay, is it my turn?" Sirius nodded, and Natasha looked around. "Lily." My head shot up in surprise. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare?" I said tentatively. It came out as more of a question than an answer. Natasha grinned wickedly. She enjoyed torturing me whenever she got the chance, so I was rather afraid to hear what she had to say.

"All right," she said. "I dare you... To kiss James."

**A/N: The end... I'll post a new chapter soon. Thanks for reading. Please leave a review, let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading that first chapter. I'm glad you liked it. So now, here is chapter two.**

**SHOUTOUT: I'd like to thank PeOtIcalLyPtheTic for the idea for this chapter. I love it, and I'm glad you gave me the idea.**

**NOTE TO MEGHAN: Psssh, if you're not going to leave me a review, don't bother reading! -grumble- Some people... Some friend...**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Two**

I almost laughed, though that urge was buried somewhere below the urge to scream, and the urge to throw up. "I refuse," I said, shaking my head.

"Oh, come on, Lily!" Natasha said. "Just do it."

Before I could open my mouth to say anything, James cut it. "She doesn't have to, if she doesn't want to." We all looked at him. Sirius' mouth had even dropped open. "Really," James explained. "I don't want Lily to kiss me if she doesn't want to."

Somehow I didn't think he was doing this to be nice. "What's that suppose to mean?" I demanded.

James looked at me in surprise. "Nothing," he said. "I just don't want to make you do something you don't want to."

Since when was James Potter such a nice person? He wasn't. So what was he trying to tell me? "What, you think I'm too afraid to kiss you?" I asked angrily.

"No!" James protested. "I didn't mean it like that." I glared at him. The others were watching us, their eyes bouncing back and forth like we were some kind of show.

"I'm not afraid," I said.

"Then prove it," Karen provoked me.

"Fine," I snapped. I stood up and crossed the compartment to where James was sitting. Natasha moved over with lightning speed, and I plopped down next to James. "Come here," I commanded.

"No," James said. I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth to argue, but James continued, "Don't do this. You don't want to, and if you don't want to, neither do I."

"Who said I don't want to?"

"You." James was starting to look confused.

I shook my head. "Forget it. Let's just get this over with."

"Lily-" James began, but he didn't finish, because then I was kissing him. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was the best kiss I'd ever had. It was hard for me to keep my hands in my lap, and not run them through his hair. And James didn't seem to be that into it, which was hard to believe since he'd been claiming his undying love for me since we were eleven. But when I pulled away from him, his face was pink.

"Whoo!" Sirius hooted. "How was it James?"

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Claudia teased us. I ignored her, and went back to where I'd been sitting before the dare. James stared after me. I could feel it, though I admit that I was too embarrassed to look at him. I do my best to ignore him for the rest of the ride. I even refused to play with them anymore. It was a long ride for me.

When we arrived at Hogwarts, it was raining. I stood up and hurried off the train, not bothering to wait for my friends. They would find me in the Great Hall. I just needed to get as far away from James Potter as possible. I climbed into one of the carriages with a group of fourth years. They watched me warily for a few minutes, but when I remained silent, they relaxed and continued their conversation.

When we reached the school, I jumped out of the carriage and ran to the doors, trying not to get my robes wet. When I was inside, I turned around and looked down at the grounds. I could see the boats moving through the Black Lake, the little lamps glowing like golden globes on the water. Shaking as much water from my hair as I could, I entered the Great Hall and sat down.

About ten minutes later, Claudia, Karen, and Natasha sat down in the seats I had saved for them. "Where did you go?" Claudia asked from across the table.

I shrugged. "I just really wanted to get good seats." I could tell they didn't believe me, but at least they decided to drop it. We held a quiet conversation during the Sorting, clapping whenever a new Gryffindor was added to the table. But we fell silent when Dumbledore stood up and approached the center of the stage. He smiled kindly at everyone. "Bibble, hutson, nucha."

Food appeared on the giant plates in front of us. I loaded my plate with as much food as it could hold, and I ate until I was stuffed. All day on the train, with nothing to eat, could really make a girl hungry. When we were all finished eating, Dumbledore stood up again. Now it was time for his actual speech.

"Well," he said. "To our new students, welcome. And to our old students, welcome back. Tonight is the start of another wonderful year at Hogwarts. Now I have several reminders; No magic in the corridors, stay out of the Forbidden Forest, and be respectful of all those around you." He looked around at all of us. "You look tired. Off to bed you go. Prefects will lead you to your houses, and you will be free to go to sleep."

As a prefect, I had to help lead the first years to the Gryffindor tower. I waved goodbye to my friends and approached the huddled group of new students. Remus was waiting for me, along with the fifth and seventh year prefects. I clapped my hands together. "Okay!" I called to the first years. "Gryffindors, this way. We'll take you to the tower and you can get settled." They swarmed around me, and I led the way out of the Great Hall.

After we had seen the first years off to their rooms, I collapsed in a chair by the fire, beside Natasha. Claudia and Karen were on her other side. They all looked at me as I sat down. "What are you talking about?" I asked, wanting to join the conversation.

"Nothing important," Claudia said breezily. I raised my eyebrows, and opened my mouth, ready to protest, but Karen changed the subject.

"So, Lily," she said, grinning evilly, "You never told us how that kiss with James was."

"Ugh," I groaned. "Can we talk about something else? You know, something that _won't_ make me throw up?" My friends stared at me, obviously disappointed. I knew that it wasn't what they wanted to hear, but I didn't care. No way was I going to admit to them that I loved kissing James. Because I didn't. So why would I tell them that? I faked a yawn and stood up. "Actually," I said, "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Good night," Natasha said, and Claudia and Karen echoed her. I climbed the stairs to my room and changed quickly, before flopping into my bed and pulling the covers over me. I wasn't tired at all, but for some reason, I had really wanted to get away from my friends. I didn't want them to press me with questions about James.

The truth was, I wasn't sure how I felt about him now. Sure, I still hated him, I guess. But something had definitely changed. That kiss... Well, it had made me feel like a totally different person for the few seconds that our lips were connected. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and honestly, I was kind of hoping that it would happen again. I buried this thoughts down as deep as I could. No one could know any of it, or everything would be different. Forever.

I closed my eyes and snuggled down beneath the covers, trying to fall asleep. James' face kept swimming in my mind, and it was impossible for me to think about anything else. I wanted to get up, go find him, and try to figure everything out, make it all go back to normal. But that was something I could never do. It would mean admitting to James that I couldn't keep him out of my head. I would rather jump off the tower than admit that to him. That was the last thing that ran through my mind before I fell asleep.

**A/N: Umm... So yeah, I don't really know what I was doing so much with this chapter, but I wanted to get something up. So please leave a review and let me know what you thought! =D**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face(I totally forgot this in the last chapter!!!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read the second chapter. :D I really appreciate it.**

**NOTICE: I really have the urge to write a ff about Malfoy. I'm not going to post it right away, because I want it beta-read. If anyone is interested, PM me, or e-mail me. My e-mail is on my profile. Thanks! :)**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Three**

When I opened my eyes the next morning, the sun was barely rising. Natasha, Claudia, Karen, and our roommate, Ginger, were still sleeping. I got up quietly, grabbed my clothes, and crept into the bathroom. I changed into my robes, brushed my hair, and slid a headband into my hair. Then I went downstairs. The common room was empty, and the fire in the fireplace was starting to die. I sat down in a chair and pulled a book out of my school bag, which I had brought down with me.

I had only been reading for a couple of minutes, when James came downstairs. I groaned quietly, but I could tell he heard me. He didn't let it bother him, though. He sat down, cross-legged, in front of me. "Evans," he said by way of greeting.

"Potter," I replied coldly.

He glanced up at me and changed his tactic. "Lily, I need to ask you something."

I raised my eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Why did you do it?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Yesterday, on the train. Why did you do it?"

Oh, so that's what he meant. I hesitated. "Because," I said. "I wanted to prove that I could."

James looked slightly hurt. "That's all?"

I couldn't stand the look he had on his face. I didn't want to hurt him anymore, but I certainly wasn't going to give him any ideas. "Yes."

He sighed, and then stood up. "Well, if that's the only reason...," he said slowly.

"It is," I replied firmly.

"Okay." He shrugged. "See you in class." He climbed the staircase back to his dorm. I opened my book again and read, until the common room started filling up. I stuffed the book back into my bag and went back up to my dorm. My friends were getting ready to go to breakfast. Natasha was lounging on her bed, while Claudia braided Karen's hair. She was tying it off when I came in. Natasha sat up, her hair falling over her shoulder in a ripple. I had always been a bit envious of her hair. "Let's go to breakfast!" she said energetically, bouncing up off the bed.

"Calm down," Karen said, eying Natasha. "How much crack did you take this morning?" She was teasing.

Natasha smiled, eyes twinkling. "None."

"Oh, lovely," Claudia muttered, shoving her curly hair out of her face. She walked over to Natasha and studied her for a moment. "How much sugar did you have?" she accused.

"Too much," Natasha giggled. I rolled my eyes, though I was fighting the urge to laugh. I loved my friends. They were so... _Real_.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go eat before Potter and Black suck the kitchen dry." I led the way downstairs to the common room, which was really crowded by now. We shoved our way to the portrait hole, and tumbled out into the nearly deserted hallway. When we reached the Great Hall, James and his friends were already there, stuffing their faces. Well, more like James and Sirius were shoveling food into their mouths as fast as they could, while Remus ate at a normal speed. We sat several feet away from them. I loaded my plate and began to eat. I could feel James' eyes on me, but it only lasted a few minutes, because then a group of fourth years filled the space between us.

"So when are we getting our schedules?" Karen asked me. I shrugged through my mouthful of food. When I swallowed, I said, "McGonagall is going to give them to us after breakfast."

"Right," Natasha said, nodding. "And that only takes for_ever_."

"She's just one person," Claudia protested, sticking up for her favorite teacher. I was fond of Professor McGonagall as well, but she would never be my favorite teacher. That spot would forever be reserved for Professor Flitwick. Charms was my best and favorite subject. Next was potions. I was terrible at Transfiguration, but that didn't stop me from liking Professor McGonagall. When McGonagall had finished eating, she came down from the teacher's table and began to hand out our schedules.

The four of us had long since finished eating when we finally got our schedules. I looked at my first class and then stuffed it into my back. "Ready?" I asked my friends. They nodded and stood up, slinging their bags over their shoulders. We head down to the dungeons for potions, our first class of the day. I had to admit, I was looking forward to seeing Professor Slughorn again. The four of us took up the table at the front of the classroom and waited for class to start.

Ten minutes later, the classroom was crowded with the other sixth-years taking the class. This meant James, Sirius, Remus, three Hufflepuffs, four Ravenclaws, and, surprisingly, five Slytherins. The Slytherins included Severus Snape, a former friend of mine. Looking at him still brought back the pain from the year before. For the first time in his life, he had been cruel to me. We hadn't been talking much anymore, but James had been torturing him in front of everyone. I couldn't just sit back and watch. But when I tried to help, Severus had done the unforgivable. He called me a mudblood.

"Good morning, class!" Professor Slughorn said cheerfully, striding into the room from his office.

"Good morning, Professor Slughorn," we all chorused, like the trained dogs we were. Everyone loved Professor Slughorn, even the Slytherins. They had to, seeing he was their head of house.

"Now, this morning we are going to be working on Truth Potions," Professor Slughorn said. My hand shot into the air. "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Isn't that the same thing as veratiserum?" I asked.

"Not quite," Professor Slughorn said. "You see, this potion only makes the drinker speak what is on their mind. Veratiserum forces the drinker to tell the truth until the effects wear off." He turned back to the class. "Now, please take out your books and turn to page 87. That is where the ingredients are listed. You may begin." He smiled and waddled over to his desk.

I flipped my book open and then hurried to the student stores cabinet, shifting through the bottles and boxes that were stuffed inside. When I had all my ingredients, I returned to my desk and began my potion. Natasha, who sat beside me, turned to me. "What's going on with you and Potter?"

I nearly dropped the bottle that I had in my hand as I whipped around to face her. "Excuse me?" I asked.

"He keeps staring at you," she said. "Like, more than usual. And people have been..." She hesitated. "Talking."

"What have they been saying?" I demanded, gripping the bottle so hard, I was afraid it might break.

"Mostly that you're practically together now. Somehow, everyone knows about the kiss."

"You didn't tell, did you?" I asked. Natasha shook her head. "None of us did, and I doubt it was Remus. It was probably Potter and Black."

I closed my eyes and slowly counted to ten. "He is so dead," I growled.

**A/N: And... The end. I don't really know what I'm doing with the story... So yeah. I'll post a new chapter soon, I promise!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey hey hey! Thanks for reading the last chapter, and thank you SO much to twiliteroxuresox for offering to beta my new story. I really appreciate it. Also, thank you to PeOtIcalLyPtheTic for the idea for this chapter. I love it. :)**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Four**

I decided to wait until after lunch to murder James. I wasn't very hungry, and I was rather anxious to get at him, but I forced myself to swallow a sandwich. As soon as James stood up, I followed him out of the Great Hall. Once we were in the entrance hall, I shouted, "James Potter!"

He appeared at my shoulder. "You called?" he asked.

"Yes," I said tightly. "I need to talk to you." I eyed Sirius and Remus, who were standing behind him. They shrugged and walked away. "You-"

James halted me by raising his hand. "Wait," he said. "Let's go somewhere else. I don't need the whole world listening to you yell at me."

"Fine," I snapped. "Let's just make this quick."

James led the way outside, and down towards the lake. When we reached the edge of the water, James plopped down in the shade of a tree. I glared at him, but sat down as well. He turned to me. "Okay," he said. "What's on your mind?"

"You've been telling everyone that I kissed you!" I exclaimed.

James raised his eyebrows. "You expected me not to?"

"Well..." I faltered for a moment. "Yes! Why did you do it?"

"Because you _kissed_ me. I've been waiting for that for years, Lily."

"Potter, you are so full of yourself!" I cried angrily.

His expression softened. "Lily, I know you don't want to believe me, but I love you."

I stared at him, then turned away. "You're right," I said gruffly. "I don't believe you." I felt him move closer, and suddenly, his hand was in mine. I was too shocked to pull it away. He began speaking softly to me. "It's true. Ever since I met you that first day when we were eleven... I knew I was in love. When I look at you, I just can't help myself."

This is when I pulled my hand away from him. "Listen to yourself!" I said. "You sound like a cheesy romance novel."

James looked hurt. I couldn't blame him. I wasn't being the nicest person at the moment, but I didn't care. Anything to just get him away from me. "I mean it. Every word."

"Just leave me alone, James Potter," I said, disgusted. I stood up and strode away from him as quickly as possible without running. When I glanced over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't following me, I could see him watching me from underneath the tree. The look on his face made my heart ache.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Two days later, everything seemed to be back to normal. James and I were ignoring each other again, and people had stopped whispering about us. They could practically see the coolness and distance that I kept between myself and James. My friends tried to ask me about what had happened between us, but I refused to speak about it. The sooner I forgot about it, the better.

By Saturday afternoon, though, James was at it again. It was normal, of course, because there were periods when we ignored each other, and there were periods when James bugged me to go out with him. Now, however, was different, because of the kiss. I was starting to hate Claudia for suggesting the game in the first place.

Lately, I had been extremely annoyed with James, and it was beginning to affect my all-around mood. My friends could tell, and they didn't really want to be around me as much. If James Potter would just leave me alone, I could get on with my life, and things wouldn't have to be so complicated all the time.

It was late at night, and I was in the common room, doing my homework on a couch in front of the fire. I was alone, until James came strolling down the stairs. "Evans," James sang, sitting down next to me on the couch.

"Get away from me, Potter," I snapped, scooting as far away from him as possible without standing up. He followed, pressing his leg against mine. I jumped up. "What is your problem?"

"What's yours?" he replied, grinning. As if that was going to charm me. Mostly it made me want to punch him, which I was extremely close to doing. He stood up and came over to me. His face was inches from mine, and I could feel the heat from his body. I looked down, afraid to look into his eyes. What if I did something stupid? "What's the matter, Evans?"

"Nothing." I backed away from him and went back over to the couch. "I'm trying to do my homework. Just leave me alone, alright?"

"Fine," James sighed. He sat on the couch with me again, only this time he left a space between the two of us. I was actually grateful for it. At least James wasn't some crazy stalker. For the most part, anyways. I bent over my homework, trying to concentrate. It was hard, though, with James watching me. I didn't see him staring, but I could feel it.

"Could you at _least_ stop staring at me?" I asked. "It makes it hard to concentrate."

I could almost hear him grinning. "I'm distracting?" he teased.

"Not what I meant."

"Sure." He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. I could tell he was pleased. I picked my quill up again and continued writing. It seemed like this potions essay would never get finished. Especially if James stayed. I knew it wouldn't be long before he interrupted me again. For a few minutes, the only sound was the scribbling of my quill. Then, "Lily?"

Sighing, I put my quill down and looked at him. "Yes?"

"Why don't you believe me?"

Confused, I tilted my head slightly to the side. "What?"

"Whenever I tell you how I feel, you blow me off like it's some kind of joke." He met my gaze, his hazel eyes penetrating. I didn't really know what to say to that. Instead, I kept my mouth shut. "Because it's not. You know that, don't you?" he asked me. He moved closer to me. I didn't move away, but mostly it was because I could barely think. My eyes searched his, looking for a glint of humor, anything that would tell me that this was all an act. I couldn't find a thing. "Lily..."

"What?" I stammered. My brain had completely stopped working. James was leaning towards me, and before I could process anything, we were kissing. That was all it took to shock my brain into clearing. Half of me wanted to go with this, and I did. I pressed my lips against his and touched my hand lightly to his shoulder. He trailed a finger down my spine, causing me to shiver.

That was when the other half of me took over. Suddenly, I realized what I was doing, and I yanked myself away from him. "Lily," he said gently. I couldn't stay there any longer. I grabbed my books and ran up the stairs to my dormitory as fast as possible. I could hear James calling after me, but I ignored him. In my room, I carefully slid my work into my bag, changed into my pajamas, and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He was never going to let me live this down.

**A/N:** **Thanks for reading, please leave me a review! This is probably the last chapter I'll be writing until Monday, because I'm going to be really busy tomorrow, Friday, and over the weekend. Sorry! But I'll post as soon as I can. **

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, so I didn't get as many reviews on the last chapter as I'd have liked, but thank you for reviewing anyways. :)**

**Thanks once again to PeOtIcalLyPtheTic for the idea for this chapter. Without you, these updates would be a lot slower. Haha.**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Five**

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was facing the stand beside my bed. On it was a small, thin vase with a flower on it. Beside it was a card. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and grabbed the card. It said, _Amaryllis; you put this flower to shame. _I stared at the card, confused. Who was sending me flowers? It only took me a few seconds to remember someone that would love to send me flowers. James Potter was at it again. Well, I wasn't going to play this game. I shoved the card into my trunk and dropped the flower into the trash.

I was the first one awake, oddly enough. I put on jeans and a dark green t-shirt, then brushed my hair. When I was finished, Natasha had woken up, and we went down to breakfast together. Claudia and Karen hated it when we woke them up before noon on the weekends.

The good thing about getting up early was that I could eat breakfast in peace, without being disturbed by James. He and Sirius usually slept late, but almost always managed to get to breakfast just in time. And when they were too late, they would just take a detour down to the kitchens and have their breakfast there. It was the way I liked it. Of course, it meant they were almost always late for class. Not that I cared. It wasn't my problem, that was for sure.

When Natasha and I were finished eating, we returned to our dormitory to wake Claudia and Karen. If they didn't get up soon, they would miss breakfast. I was surprised to see Claudia awake and sitting on her bed when we got upstairs. She was twirling the flower in her hand. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully when she saw us. "I found this in the trash. I wonder who threw it away?"

"I did," I said blandly, snatching it from her and tossing it into the garbage again.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, bewildered.

"Because it's from James Potter," I said matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Claudia asked. "Why did he send you a flower?"

"Why is the sun a giant flaming ball of gas?" I replied. "These are the mysteries of life." Natasha and Claudia looked at me like I was crazy. Sometimes I forgot that they were raised as muggles, like I was. I knew things that they would never learn. Especially since they'd never taken an interest in astronomy, like I had.

Natasha just shook her head. "So what are we doing today?" she asked.

"You mean besides homework?" Claudia replied, crossing the room to shake Karen awake.

Karen sat up, shoving her honey blond hair out of her face. She glared at us, her blue-green eyes narrowed. "Some people actually _enjoy_ sleep around here," she snapped. But she stood up and changed into shorts and a t-shirt, and pulled her hair back in a sloppy ponytail. Which actually looked good on her. Anything looked good on Karen; it's just how she was.

"Well, I'm going to the library," I said.

"We're going to breakfast," Karen announced, linking arms with Claudia. "I'm starving." She looked to Natasha. "Are you coming?"

She shook her head. "I'll go with Lily. I already ate."

"Okay," Karen shrugged. "Meet us back here in half an hour, and we can finish our homework. I need help with that Charms essay." She looked at me when she mentioned this. We all knew that Charms was my best subject. We all walked downstairs together, and out the portrait hole, but we separated in the hallway. Natasha and I turned in the opposite direction, heading towards the library.

"So why did you throw the flower out?" she asked.

"Because it's from Potter," I said. My tone was dripping with displeasure. "Why won't he just leave me alone?"

"He likes you," Natasha said. "A _lot_."

"Thank you Captain _Duh_." I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know why you hate him so much. He can be really sweet. Like now. How many guys do you know that would send you flowers?"

"None," I said flatly. "Because it's weird."

"It's not weird, it's romantic," Natasha gushed as we reached the library. I pulled the door open and we entered.

"You might think so," I replied. "I, however, think it's weird." I moved through the isles, staring at book titles. Natasha trailed after me, lost in thought.

"I wonder what he meant," she mused.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, flowers have meanings, you know."

I stared at her. "How do _you_ know that?" I asked. "I thought it was a muggle tradition."

"It is," she said. "But I read about it somewhere. I just can't remember." She paused, then said, "Maybe you should find out the meaning of the flower that James sent you!"

"Maybe I should figure out how he even got it into our room. You have to admit, it's a little creepy."

"He could have had one of the house elves do it for him," Natasha suggested.

I thought this over for a moment. "That's smart."

"So you really don't want to know what the flower means?" she asked.

"No."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

An hour later, the four of us were huddled at a table in the corner of the common room, doing homework that I thought we'd never finish. Karen was struggling through her Charms essay, while I was trying to make heads or tails of my Transfiguration homework. It was starting to frustrate me. I thought about asking Claudia, but I decided against it. She wasn't the best tutor. If I really needed help, I could always ask Professor McGonagall.

Sighing, I looked out the window. A gaggle of first years were wandering the grounds, not a care in the world, while we sixth years were stuck in the common room on such a nice day, doing homework. "This is depressing," I commented.

"You're telling me," Claudia agreed. We could hear the shouts of laughter coming from the younger students. I looked down at my homework, which I knew was never going to get done, whether I stayed inside all day or not.

"Forget it," I said, throwing my quill down. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later." I stood up and left the common room. I walked quickly through the castle and out the front doors. Once I was outside, I slowed down and took a deep breath. The warm, sweet air calmed me immensely. I strode down the hill, towards the forest. I had never been inside, and I didn't intend to then, either, but something drew me to the wildflowers that were growing on the edge.

When I reached them, I bent down and plucked one up. It was a pretty white daisy. I lifted it to my nose and breathed in the scent. "Snorting flowers?" a voice said. I whirled around, blushing a deep red. Remus was a few feet away, smiling at me.

"Hey, Remus," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. I had been afraid that it was James.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing, really. It was too stuffy in the common room. I decided to take a walk." I glanced around. "Where are Potter and Black?"

"James and Sirius went to Hogsmeade for the day," Remus said.

I raised my eyebrows at him, but I didn't bother asking. The less I knew about James, the better. I could care less about what he did to get himself in trouble. "Would you like to walk with me?"

"Of course." Remus made a big show of bowing deeply. "May I have your arm?" he asked mockingly.

"Why of course," I replied, curtsying and looping my arm through his. We strolled around the grounds, and stopped by the Black Lake.

"Well, Miss Evans, I had fun," Remus said, grinning.

"As did I, Mr. Lupin," I teased. I laughed when he bent to kiss my hand.

"It's only proper," he explained.

I sighed, my smile drooping. "I suppose I'll have to get back to my homework now."

"What are you having trouble with?"

"My Transfiguration homework."

"James-" he started.

"No!" I said firmly. "I'm not going to ask for his help." Before Remus could say anything else, I turned on my heel and walked away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning, I sat up and yawned. When I looked over at the stand, there was another flower. This once was a lovely pink color. The card beside it said; _Aster; I will always wait for you._

Well that's just fine and dandy, I thought, crumpling the card. I shoved it into my trunk with the other one, grabbing the flower, and sent it flying into the trash. It landed head first in the bin, and I smiled at my handywork. James Potter was just going to have to realize that I was _not_ interested.

**A/N: Well, what did you think? Love it, hate it? Review, please! **

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I would just like to start off by saying that I'm really kind of sad. Come on, three reviews? Or, more technically, one, since DJ and PeOtIcalLyPtheTic don't count anymore. I really, really love those reviews! Everyone does, right? So just press the little green button at the end and make me happy, please?**

**Shoutout to: PeOtIcalLyPtheTic, who is practically co-writing this story with me(xP Thanks so much for the ideas! I love them, and they're appreciated), and to SecretlyAGryffindor for being my only reviewer.**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Six**

I wasn't sure if James knew I hadn't been keeping his flowers. He didn't say anything to me about them, but from the way he looked at me now, I could tell that it was him sending them. On the third morning, I woke up to three flowers and a card. There was a purple lilac, an orchid, and some type of lily. The card read, _Lilac: You are my first and only love. Orchid:You're more beautiful than anything on this planet. Calla Lily: Keep your heart pure._

Keep my heart pure? What the bloody hell was that suppose to mean? Potter had better watch it, or he was going to get seriously hexed. In front of everyone. There was nothing more embarrassing than getting beat by a girl, right? I grabbed the flowers, ripped the petals off, and dropped it all into the garbage can. I flicked the card off the table and it landed somewhere on the floor. I changed into my robes and marched downstairs to the common room.

"Potter!" I barked when I saw him sitting on the couch. His arm was slung around some poor fifth year girl. I felt bad for her. She actually looked pleased, though.

"You called, Evans?" he asked smoothly.

"This needs to end. _Now,_" I hissed.

"What?" he asked, playing the innocent card.

"The flowers," I said through gritted teeth. "I don't want them. Stop sending them to me."

James raised his eyebrows. "What flowers?" There was glint in his eyes, however. I knew he was testing me.

"James," I said, a warning tone in my voice. "I'm not kidding. Stop it. I am not interested. Get that through your thick skull."

Hurt flashed in his eyes, but he stood his ground. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Potter. Just leave me alone."

"Fine."

"Fine." I stalked away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Two days later, I was still getting flowers. The day after my fight with James, I received an odd red-pink flower, close to the shape of a heart, and the card said _Anthurium: I want you to be happy. _The second was a small group of pink and yellow flowers. The card read _Alstroemeria: I want us to be friends._

Hah. I laughed at the one. Friends? Not bloody likely. These got thrown away as well. Natasha had noticed. "I still think you should look up the meanings," she said. I think she wanted it more to soothe her curiosity than anything else. Finally, during lunch the second day, I hurried up to my dormitory and grabbed the cards. I went down to the library and found a book on flowers.

I picked up the first card and began flipping through the pages, until I found a picture of the first flower I had gotten. _Amaryllis: __This flower is symbolic of __splendid beauty. It is also used to indicate worth beyond beauty. _Next was _Aster: It symbolizes patience. It is also indicative of a love of variety, elegance and daintiness. _So Potter thought I was beautiful and he promised to wait for me. Big surprise there. As if I hadn't heard it a million times before. I kept moving through the book.

_Lilac: White symbolizes humility and innocence, field lilac symbolizes charity while purple lilac symbolizes first love. Orchid: a symbol of exotic beauty, refinement, thoughtfulness, and mature charm. Calla Lily: a symbol of purity and innocence. Anthurium: used to indicate happiness and abundance. Alstroemeria: This is the flower of friendship._

That was all the flowers I had received so far. The information I had now just confused me farther. What was James trying to tell me? Mostly just three things. One, that he loved me, two, he thought I was beautiful, and three, he wanted to be my friend. I closed the book and gathered my cards in a small stack. When I looked up, there he was. He was watching me closely, his face blank.

"Can I help you?" I snapped. I was really surprised to see him there. I hadn't seen or heard him sit down, which made me wonder how absorbed in the book I had really been.

"Looking to buy flowers for someone, Evans?" he asked.

"No," I said, "Trying to figure out what all _your_ flowers mean." He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Honestly, I was pretty annoyed with him at the moment, but deep, deep down, I was kind of flattered that he kept sending me flowers like this. Maybe we could be friends.

"What flowers?" Or maybe not. I stood up, ignoring the sudden urge to slap him, and I left. If he wanted to be like that, it was fine with me.

-.-.-.-.-.-

When I woke up the day after that, there wasn't any flowers, which I had to admit was kind of weird after waking up to them every morning like I had been. Instead, there was a card. I picked it up, and it said, _Please meet me in the North tower at 11:50 tonight._

North tower at 11:50. Because that wasn't a weird request. The thing was, though, I kind of wanted to go. I wanted proof that it was James that had been sending me all these flowers. So I tucked the card away and got ready for school.

**A/N: Umm... Yeah. So that was kind of a lame chapter. Review and reassure me? :D**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! They are greatly appreciated. :D Okay, so here's the next chapter.**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Seven**

I spent most of my day contemplating whether or not I wanted to go to the tower that night. True, I wanted proof that it was indeed James that was sending the flowers, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know what would happen if I _did_ show. What if he tried to kiss me again? What if I let him? What if I liked it? I shuddered. This was not suppose to be happening to me. Especially not with James Potter.

By eleven o'clock that night, the common room was completely empty. I hadn't seen Potter all night, so I could only assume that he was already in the North Tower, waiting for me. What he was doing, I didn't know. I spent most of my evening doing homework, and when I had finished with that, I began reading. It was something I had read over the summer once, Pride and Prejudice. I had really liked it, and now that I was older, it was a lot easier to understand.

Somewhere around eleven-ten, I was completely distracted. I couldn't keep my mind on the book, so I stared into the fire, images flashing through my mind as I wondered what was going to happen. I sighed and picked up my book again, trying to concentrate. It wasn't working too well. Damn James Potter and his ability to take over my mind. It made me feel like punching him. I had given up on abusing him two years ago, after deciding I was too old to be hitting people.

I was beginning to grow restless, so when it was eleven-twenty, I got up and left the common room. If any teachers happened to run into me, I knew I wouldn't get in trouble, because everyone knew what a dedicated prefect I was. I was all into abiding by the rules. Except for now. I was breaking curfew to meet a guy that I could hardly even stand.

Luckily, though, I didn't run into anyone. My trip from the Gryffindor common room to the North Tower went smoothly. In fact, I arrived there early by about fifteen minutes early. He wasn't there, but I could see something on the window sill, moonlight spilling over it. It was another small, glass vase, with a card propped up next to it.

I stepped over to it and picked up the card. _Lily, here's another flower to add to your collection. I have some more for you. Check the bottom of the stairs._ I put the card in my pocket and looked at the flower. It was a beautiful purple flower, and, feeling rather self conscience, I lifted it to my nose and took a breath. It was one of the loveliest smells I had ever encountered.

I kept the flower clutched in my hand, and I turned and trotted back down the stairs. At the very bottom lay another flower and a note. It was a clump of tiny pink flowers surrounded by bright green leaves. I added that to my hand and picked up the card. This one had only a few words on it. _The bald man painting._

I knew where that was, and I remembered it's significance. One night, when Remus had been sick, I'd had to patrol the halls alone, and James accompanied me, much to my annoyance. We passed a painting of a balding man dressed in a green velvet robe, smoking a cigar, lounging in a fat armchair. James had felt the need to comment. "That's one ugly painting."

"It's not ugly," I told him. "Just... Different. It's depicting the life of the rich."

James snorted. "I hope I never look like that." He eyed the man's stomach. "I hope I never get that _fat_."

It had been one of the few times we'd actually gotten along. There was only a handful of those moments, so I remembered them all relatively well. Stuffing the card in my pocket, I rounded the corner and headed toward the bald-man painting. When I found the painting, it was dark, so I lit my wand. Sitting on the floor in front of it was a flower I actually knew. It was a yellow chrysanthemum. I bent to retrieve it.

Attached to the flower was another card. This one had two words. _Black Lake._ I stared at it, dumbfounded. He wanted me to not only roam around the school at night, but _leave_ it? Was he crazy? Oh, wait. This was Potter I was talking about. Of course he was crazy. And he didn't care about obeying the rules. Shaking my head, I stuffed the third card into my pocket with the other two. Squeezing my hand around the stems of the flowers, I moved down the hall quickly. I wasn't worried about getting caught here. It was more likely that I would be stopped closer to the front of the school.

I was rather surprised when I reached the front door without having heard or seen anything. Cautiously, I went over to one of the windows and opened it. I didn't want to risk being caught by opening the door. I slid through the open window and dropped into the grass on the other side. The moon was bright that night, not quite full. It would be in the next few days, I knew that much.

I approached the Black Lake, glancing around. I had to admit I was a bit nervous. I had this fear of being alone in the dark, especially when I was outside. Although I knew that I could defend myself a lot better than most muggle girls. When I got to the edge of the Black Lake, where the dock reached out into the water, I couldn't find anything. There was no flower. Suddenly I had a thought. What if Potter was playing a trick on me? Lock me out of the castle for the night?

There was movement to my right, and I jumped, stifling a scream. It was James. He was carrying another flower. Anger flared inside me and I hissed, "What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?"

"Sorry," James said, but he didn't sound sorry at all. He moved over to me and gently took the flowers from my hand. He held them up in front of me. "Do you want to know what they mean?"

I hesitated. Curiosity was slowly taking me over, and I nodded. James took the first one, the purple one. "This," he said, "is a Anemone. It means fading hope." He handed it back to me and I looked down at it, surprised it could mean something so sad. He pulled the next one out of his hand, the chrysanthemum. "This is a carnation. Yellow means rejection." I flinched slightly.

Next was the clump of pink flowers. I prayed they would have a happier meaning. "Bouvardia. It means enthusiasm." Then he held out the one he'd been carrying. It was a white carnation. "This one," he said, "Means pure love." He didn't elaborate. He left it for me to decide the meaning of his words. He handed the flowers back to me and I took them, looking down at the tiny bouquet I had in my hand. "Lily, I love you."

Something inside my snapped, and I slapped him hard across the face. It took him a moment to react. His hand flew to his cheek, feeling it, while he turned his eyes on me, bewildered. Then his lips played into a smile small. I scowled at him. "James, just leave me alone!"

"If you want me to leave you alone, why did you come out here?" he asked, smirking. The look on his face irritated me, but I refrained from slapping him again.

"Because I was curious," I replied, but my voice wavered. James' smirk turned into an actual genuine smile, and he took my hand. He was moving closer, and I knew what was coming. I held my hand up to stop him. "No. James, stop, I can't." I pulled my hand away from his, turned, and ran. I climbed in through the window and then hid myself in the nearest classroom. I sat there for the rest of the night.

**A/N: Yeah... That's about it for this chapter. Thanks for reading, please drop me a review, I'd love it!!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but homework has got me _really_ busy. I'll try to update more this weekend. :)**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Eight**

Avoiding James Potter wasn't really an option that I could choose. He was everywhere I was, but it wasn't just because he was trying to talk to me. It was because as we were both sixth year Gryffindors, we had most of our classes together. This meant I really had no where to hide. Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't try. I tried extremely hard, to no avail. When I got up to my dorm after hiding in that classroom all night, there was another flower on my table. This one was another white lily. I chucked it in the garbage and proceeded to get dressed.

I put on my uniform, noticing for the first time that my skirt was beginning to get a little on the short side. I smoothed out the blue plaid fabric and pulled on my robes. I brushed my hair, which was a fiery red mess from all the running I'd done last night, and then twisted it into a bun at the nape of my neck. I examined myself in the mirror, looking at my reflection critically. My eyes had bags underneath them, a dead giveaway that I hadn't slept, along with the fact that my usually bright green eyes were dull, the usual happy spark gone.

Natasha was the first to notice this when she woke up. She took one look at me and said, "Woah. What happened to you?"

"Nothing," I replied, trying to stay calm. The lack of sleep left me irritable and more likely to snap at people for no reason at all. This was why I usually tried to sleep at least twelve hours every night. Anything less made me grumpy, and I was not a fun person when I was grumpy. My mood was even worse when I paired my lack of sleep and the problem with James together. In other words, I was not a happy person that morning.

I felt the need to confide in someone, but I didn't want to tell my friends what had happened the night before. They would think I was insane. Any girl would give anything to have a chance at James Potter. So maybe I was a little crazy. Who cared? James Potter was never going to get his way, I would make sure of that. When Claudia and Karen were awake, they gave me the same greeting that Natasha had. I repeated tersely what I'd said to Natasha: Nothing had happened, nothing was wrong, there was nothing to worry about. This answer, of course, just made my friends exchange worried looks, but they dropped it at least.

When we went to breakfast, I kept looking around nervously, afraid that James was going to materialize at my shoulder and continue what I'd stopped last night. To my intense relief, he ignored me when he entered the Great Hall with Sirius and Remus at his side. He sat down at the far end of the table and didn't so much as glance at me. I relaxed then, and was able to eat my breakfast in peace, thinking he'd finally decided to give up. What I didn't know was that he was just carefully planning his next move.

In Transfiguration, our first class of the day, McGonagall paired us into partners, and I prayed fiercely that I wouldn't end up with James. Luckily, my wish came true, though not exactly in the way that I'd hoped. Professor McGonagall paired me with Sirius, much to our dismay. I sat down beside him and he glared at me. "Let's get something straight, Evans," he said before I'd even set my book down, "I don't want to be your partner anymore than you want to be mine, so let's just get this over with, shall we, and make it as painless as possible."

"My pleasure," I murmured, rolling my eyes. He ignored it. The challenge of the day was to turn our pin cushions into mice with a nonverbal spell. It took me a few tries, but I accomplished it before anyone else in the class. James, I noticed, managed it soon after me. Sirius struggled beside me, so finally, when McGonagall wasn't looking, I flicked my wand at his pin cushion, which transformed into a mouse. He gave me a quick, sarcastic smile, and then turned to talk with James. I stared at the back of his head for a moment, not really seeing his thick, black locks. Instead, my mind was busy going over everything that had happened the previous night. James still wasn't looking at me, which I couldn't say I wasn't too unhappy about.

When class was over, I hurried to my next one, Ancient Runes, which James was not attending. I gave a quick thanks in my head as I slid into my seat. I'd always found Ancient Runes highly interesting, so it was quite easy to forget about James for a good hour and a half. Afterwards, however, it was time for lunch and he was swarming my brain again. I was distracted while eating, and nearly dunked my sandwich into my pumpkin juice. My friends watched me the entire time, as if they were afraid I was going crazy or something. And honestly, I might have been. James Potter was slowly driving me insane.

I had free period after lunch, so I sat in the common room, working on my homework. I knew for a fact that James also had this free period, but I didn't see him at all while I was working in the common room. Most likely, he was off with Sirius and Remus, planning some immature prank. Lately, James had cut back on the pranks, to impress me, I believe, but after my rejection, he would probably start yet again. Teenage boys were such idiots sometimes.

My last class of the day was shared with James. It was potions, my best subject. I shared a table with three Ravenclaws, while he sat with two Hufflepuffs and another Gryffindor. The third table was taken up by a group of Slytherins. How all four of them had managed to get into Advanced Potions was beyond me, but I didn't bother to ask them. Gryffindors didn't mingle with Slytherins. When Professor Slughorn gave us our assignment, I put all the energy I had left into concentrating on my work. I wasn't going to let James Potter run my life. Now, however, I could feel his gaze on me. He was acknowledging me finally.

This, for some odd reason, actually made me kind of nervous. I kept making mistakes in my potion, and by the end of the class, I was afraid to add anything else, expecting it to explode at any moment. When Slughorn approached me, an expectant smile on his pudgy face, I felt even worse about my potion. He glanced down into my potion and waved the pungent fumes away, his face drooping with disappointment. I stared down into my lap. I knew I was going to have to make it up to him.

When the bell rang and class was dismissed, I went up to him at his desk. "Professor Slughorn?" I asked hesitantly. He glanced up, a little surprised.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, sir," I stammered. "About my potion, I mean."

Slughorn sighed. "What's gotten into you today? I've never seen such a horrible potion out of you, Miss Evans."

I looked at the ground, ashamed. "I know," I said. "I'm really sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night, because I was – er – working on my essay for charms. It won't happen again, I promise."

"I should hope not," Slughorn replied, flashing me a kind smile. "Run along now. Get caught up on the sleep, eh?"

"Yes, sir," I said, smiling back. I grabbed my bag and left. As I exited the dungeons, I half-expected to find James waiting for me, and I felt a huge wave of relief when I realized that he was, in fact, no where to be seen. I hurried back to the common room where my friends were waiting for me. I flopped down onto one of the couches, sighing loudly. A few people looked at me, but I didn't care. Natasha, Claudia, and Karen made their way over to me and sat down in front of me.

"So are you going to tell us what's wrong?" Karen asked, her eyes full of concern.

"James Potter," I replied simply.

Natasha raised her eyebrows. "James had made you this insane?"

"Yes." Were they ever going to understand how much I detested him? Somehow, I didn't think so. They were going to spend the rest of their lives talking about how crazy they thought I was and that I was in denial. I waited for that one to pop up.

"Lily," Claudia said hesitantly, "James really isn't such a bad guy. You just need to get use to him is all..." She trailed off, biting her lip, as if she was afraid I was going to chomp her head off. Which is what I usually did when any of them brought up James.

"Personally," Karen said, breaking the sudden silence, "I think Lily is just in denial." She stared at me defiantly, as if she didn't care if I yelled at her or not. A look of surprise took its place several moments later when I still hadn't said anything. She waved her hand in front of my face. "Earth to Lily!"

"I'm here," I mumbled, yawning. "I'm just really tired."

The three of them exchanged glances. "Go to bed," Claudia suggested.

"I think I will," I replied. I stood up and climbed the stairs to our dormitory and fell into my bed, kicking off my shoes, still wearing my uniform. I was too tired to change out of it. I closed my eyes and drifted off into a rather peaceful, dreamless sleep. The entire time I was sleeping, however, I was all too aware of what was going on around me. My friends climbing into their beds, someone flicking the lights off, the silky-feel of my pillow beneath my cheek.

When I blinked my eyes open, it was still dark out. The room was flooded in moonlight from my window, the only window of which the curtains had not been drawn. I stood up, feeling much better, and checked the clock across the room. It was only almost midnight. I held in a groan. I was going to be just as tired tomorrow as I had been this morning. I pulled the tie out of my hair, letting the wild red curls fall over my shoulders, and I pulled off my red and gold tie, dropping it onto the bed. I also slid out of the robes, feeling rather hot, so all I was wearing was my uniform skirt, shirt, and the knee-high socks we were all forced into.

Not wanting to disturb my friends or the other girl that roomed with us, I crept downstairs to the common room. It was completely empty, except for me now. The fire was still burning merrily, crackling over the wood it had recently been fed. I was watching the fire when the portrait hole swung open. I looked over my shoulder to see who it was coming in, but I saw no one. More than a little freaked out, I turned to face the fire again.

And then suddenly, he was there beside me. I jumped about a mile, stifling a scream. When I'd calmed down, I glared at him. "James Potter, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down. "I told you not to sneak up on me!"

"Sorry," James grinned. "I just love doing it."

"Well I don't," I huffed, crossing my arms. "This is _not_ the way to win a girl's heart, Potter."

James shrugged. "I'll take my chances." To which I rolled my eyes.

After a minute or so of silence, I looked at him again. "Why are you even here?"

He turned to me. "Can't a bloke just sit in front of the fire without being accused of something?"

I snorted. "Not this one."

"Well," he said. He paused, as the clock in the common room chimed midnight, "I'm here for a very specific reason."

"Oh?" I asked, eyebrows raised. "And what is that?"

"To give you this." He smiled and pulled a rose from out of nowhere, handing it to me. I took it slowly, almost shocked.

"What's this, then?" I asked rather shakily.

"A midnight rose."

**A/N: And now I have to go off to school, but I really wanted to post, so I figured I'd leave you all a cliffy. :) Have fun, and PLEASE REVIEW! Remember: I love you all!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update! School has kept me super busy this week, and I was sick over the weekend. Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Nine**

I was shocked into silence after he said that. It was a few minutes before I could say anything. When I finally found my voice, I stammered, "What is it for?"

"You," James said. "To prove to you that I really love you."

"Prove it?" I asked.

James nodded. "You never believe me when I tell you that I love you. You're afraid to trust me, Lily."

This was so close to the truth that I couldn't find anything to say again. I opened my mouth and then closed it again, feeling like a fish. I knew I looked stupid, but at least James didn't comment. He just offered the rose to me again. I took it gingerly and he smiled. His smile made my stomach flip. Was I really starting to fall for James Potter, just because of some stupid flowers? "Do you believe me now?" he asked.

"Yes," I said finally, looking down at the rose. It really was a very pretty flower. Definitely my favorite of all the flowers he had sent me. Not that I was going to let him know that.

James' face brightened. "Really?" he asked. I nodded, and he reached out for my hand. I felt a tingle run up my arm when he touched me. I had the answer to my earlier question: Yes, I was falling for James Potter because of some stupid flowers. "Does that mean you'll go out with me now?"

I hesitated. I didn't want to jump into this so suddenly, but I didn't want to crush James. I mean, I was totally use to it, but something about the look in his hazel eyes made me want to say yes. I turned away, my own green eyes filling with tears. I shook my head and my red hair swayed with the movement. "No." I stood up and dropped the rose in his lap. He stood up and grabbed for my arm, but I side-stepped and dashed up the stairs to my dormitory.

I collapsed onto my bed and began to sob as quietly as possible. What was wrong with me? I didn't even know why I was crying. It just came out. I hated being a teenager. These were definitely not the best years of my life. All the wild hormones running around, making me grumpy, depressed, or overly-happy. When I was finished crying, I wiped my eyes and rolled over, pulling the blankets over me. I closed my eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

I woke up the next morning feeling groggy and frustrated. It was still early, the morning was still grey. I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom. My hair was a complete mess and I couldn't even get a brush through it, so I climbed into the shower. I felt better as soon as the hot water hit me. There was something soothing about steam. I stood there for several minutes, then set to work on my hair.

When I got out of the shower, I felt less grumpy than I had when I got in. I changed quickly into my uniform and entered the dormitory again. Natasha and Claudia were awake, Claudia trying to get Karen up. Our blond friend was waving her hand around and grumbling, her head buried in the pillow. I could hear a faint, "Go away."

"Rise and shine!" I advised her. She turned her head so she could glare at me. I pulled my still-wet hair into a ponytail and then grabbed my wand. I flicked it, and her bed dumped her onto the floor. She stood up slowly, muttering to herself.

"All I wanted was a little extra sleep," she complained. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Yes," Claudia and I chorused. Natasha knew better and stayed silent, twirling a brown curl on her finger. Karen rolled her eyes and grabbed her robes, entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Claudia and Natasha were already dressed. When Karen came back out, her hair neatly brushed into a bun, we moved downstairs as a group. Only a few people milled around in the common room, and I was getting hungry, so we went down to the Great Hall.

I was spooning some steaming eggs onto my plate when he and his friends walked in. I ignored him, grabbing a piece of toast and buttering it. He was walking towards me, Sirius and Remus following close behind. I prayed he would walk past us, but he didn't. He stopped beside me and said in a dull voice, "Evans."

"Potter," I sighed. We were back to this again?

"I've decided I'll leave you alone now, since that's obviously what you want."

This threw me. I hadn't been expecting it at all. "Er – Alright. Thanks?"

He didn't reply. He and the other two moved on down the table to find their own spot to eat. My friends stared at me curiously. Karen was the first to ask. "What did he mean?"

I could feel myself turning red. I honestly didn't want to tell my friends what had happened the night before, but if I didn't, I would be a bad friend. So, leaning towards them, I recounted everything that'd happened with James since the game of Truth or Dare.

"That's so sweet!" Claudia said, when I told them about the rose.

"I guess," I said. I shrugged, as if I didn't care. But deep down, I knew I did care. I just wasn't sure how much. My stomach was twisted in a knot. What did James mean, he would leave me alone. After all this, he was just going to give up? I was uneasy as I twisted his words around in my mind, trying to figure out exactly what is was he meant. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who didn't understand him.

"What do you think he meant?" Natasha asked. "'I'll leave you alone now'?"

Karen raised her eyebrows. "That he's going to leave her alone? Isn't that obvious."

Claudia was torn. "It could have meant anything, I suppose."

"What could it mean, other than, 'I'll leave you alone'?" Karen argued.

"Karen has a point," Claudia said after a few minutes of silence, during which I was stuffing my face with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast, with the occasional sip of pumpkin juice. The three of them turned to look at me for my opinion. I swallowed a large mouthful of eggs and washed it down with pumpkin juice. When I was finished, I just shrugged. "Who cares what it means? I can get on with my life now."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Natasha asked.

"No," Claudia said for me. "He's been bugging her for years, and now she can finally do stuff without him bothering her all the time."

"Exactly," I said, though my stomach didn't seem to agree with a word Claudia was saying. My head did, though, for the most part. They dropped the subject after that, seemingly bored with it. When we finished eating, we went back to the common room to get our bags before going to class.

When I was sitting at my desk, trying to focus on what Professor Binns was saying, I knew it was going to be impossible for me to concentrate today. I contemplated going to the Hospital Wing, but then I would be stuck in there all day, instead of free to wander when classes were over. I wasn't lacking sleep, so I put all my energy into concentrating on my school work. That's what was important, after all.

Through some miracle, I ended up with very little homework that day. I was extremely pleased, so when I returned to the common room, I was happier than I'd been that morning. My pleasure dropped, however, when I entered the common room and saw James Potter sitting on the couch. Not only that, though. It was James Potter, sitting on the couch, in a heated snogging session with some fifth year girl. I cleared my throat to let them know I was there. I couldn't help but notice that we were the only three people in the room. Everyone else still had class.

The two broke apart, breathing heavily, and James turned to look at me. "Can I help you, Evans?" he asked cooly.

"No," I replied. "I'd just rather not watch you two snog while I'm doing homework."

"Go to the library, then," James retorted.

I sighed, feeling my stomach twist again. Seeing James kissing another girl had made me feel a flash of jealously. Okay, so maybe I did like James. Perhaps I _was_ ready to admit it. So I said, "Look, James. Can I talk to you?" I glanced at the fifth-year. "Alone?"

"Fine." James shrugged and the girl, a perky-looking blond, gave him a reproachful stare before climbing the stairs to her dormitory. When she was gone, he asked, "What is it?"

"I just want to tell you something," I said.

"What?" James repeated, his hazel eyes hard.

"I like you, too."

**A/N: THE END! Of the chapter. Because I'm just such a meanie like that. But I really wanted to get something posted. So there it is. PLEASE leave me a review! I'll love you forever if you do. Thanks to the eleven or twelve people that reviewed the last chapter. You guys are great!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Okay, so just about everyone who reviewed told me I'm officially hated for the cliffy. Love you too. (: Okay, so here's the next chapter!!**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Ten**

I bit my lip, waiting for his reaction. His face betrayed nothing and it took him the longest time to answer me. Though it was only a few minutes, it seemed like hours to me. Finally, he looked at me and said, "What makes you think I still like you?"

I faltered. "I just-"

"You just thought that I was going to keep chasing after you forever?" he snapped. I had no response to this. Because honestly, I guess that _was_ what I thought. I didn't tell him that, though. I shook my head and replied, "Of course not."

James looked at me like he didn't believe what I was saying. "Right." He ran a frustrated hand through his messy black hair. I looked down at my feet, feeling a little ashamed and embarrassed. This had taken a turn I hadn't been expecting. I looked up to find James watching me with hard eyes. "Look," he said, rather coldly, in my opinion, "Maybe we should just forget about each other."

"Right," I said, my voice wavering. "Forget about it."

"Good." He didn't move at all. "So we're agreed?"

I nodded, unable to speak. My mouth had gone dry and my tongue refused to move. Before he could do anything, I turned and left the common room. I could hear him muttering to himself as I walked away, but I didn't quite catch what he was saying. And if he was saying what I thought he was, I didn't want to know why he was talking about elephants when he was angry.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

I didn't mention this encounter to my friends. At least, not right away. But they could tell something was bothering me, so the next morning, I admitted everything. They didn't seem surprised. I was actually a little surprised that I wasn't surprised that they weren't surprised. And then my head started to hurt after I'd ran that sentence through it.

To be honest, I moped around for the next two days. I was upset, obviously. I'd been too stubborn to admit to James that I likes him, and when I'd finally gotten around to doing it, he'd rejected me. With good reason, too. It was my own fault, much as I hated to admit it. There was nothing I could do about it.

Well, there was one thing.

But I wasn't going to do it. No way, not in a million years. I'd had my mind set and determined to ignore that idea. Until Austin Stewart came up to me on the following Monday and sat down beside me at breakfast. He was a seventh year Ravenclaw who had always been kind to me. "What's the matter, Lily?" he asked.

"Nothing," I lied. I didn't want the whole world to know about my problems. Not that I really thought Austin was going to say anything to anyone, but telling anyone other than my friends just made everything all the more real. From the look on Austin's face, I could tell he didn't believe me. He continued to try coaxing the answer out of me. "Come on, Lily," he said gently. "You can tell me."

I decided to give him a half-truth. "I just got rejected," I admitted finally. I didn't mention by whom and he didn't ask. Instead, he smiled kindly at me and took my hand. "It's alright," he told me. "Whoever the jerk is, he doesn't deserve you. You need someone who will always love you and care for you."

"Yeah," I said, looking down at my plate. It was piled with food, but I wasn't hungry at all. I tried to concentrate on my plate, but at the moment, I couldn't help but think about how Austin was holding my hand. It felt a little awkward, but nice at the same time. Unable to ignore him any longer, I looked at him. He smiled at me, his blue eyes dancing. He squeezed my hand and I smiled back.

"I should get to class," Austin said then, standing up. He picked up his bag. "I'll see you later?"

"Sure," I said, still smiling. He left and I turned back to my breakfast. Maybe I was hungry after all...

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

After classes that day, Austin caught me in the hallway. "Hey," he said, grinning.

"Hello," I replied, feeling oddly strange. Being around him made my stomach twist. Not the way I'd ever felt about James. With James there had been something deeper. I still liked him. I couldn't help it. There was no way this feeling for him was ever going to go away. But no one said I couldn't try distracting myself, right?

"You want to come for a walk with me?" Austin asked.

"Where?"

"Just down on the grounds."

"Sure," I replied. "But I have to drop my bag off first."

"That's fine," Austin said. He walked with me down the hall and then we separated at a corner, Austin going to the Ravenclaw common room, and I to the Gryffindor common room. As we left each other, Austin told me to meet him in the Entrance Hall. I agreed and then went up to the common room, walking fast. I was relieved when I found it empty. James wasn't there. I didn't know where he was and I didn't really care at the moment. Austin Stewart wanted to spend time with me!

I dashed up the stairs and dropped my bag on my bed, then hurried back down. As I was pushing open the portrait, I ran into an extremely surprised James. He was alone. He took one look at my happy face, which fell almost immediately, and took on a sour expression. I didn't bother apologizing for running into him. He didn't say anything either. I pushed past him and hurried down to the Entrance Hall, where Austin was waiting for me.

When he saw my unhappy expression, he asked, "What happened?"

"Run in with James Potter," I grumbled. Everyone knew James and I hated each other. Until recently, that is. Then we liked each other. And now I guess we were back to hating each other again. Austin gave a knowing nod and said, "Don't worry. I'll make you feel better." We smiled at each other again. Austin started over to the doors. "Ready for that walk?"

"Of course," I replied. We walked down the rolling hill in a comfortable silence. By the time we'd reached the Black Lake and started our walk around it, we couldn't stop talking. I had never really noticed that Austin and I had such similar interests. We talked about everything from our favorite colors to what we wanted to do when we were out of school.

By the time we'd returned to the school, I was sure I was forming a crush on Austin. He looked disappointed when we got to the doors. I turned to face him and said, "I had fun." I meant it, too.

"I had fun, too," Austin said. He took my hand again. "I really like you, Lily."

I took a deep breath. "I like you, too," I admitted. Austin grinned and kissed me gently on the cheek. "Really?"

"Really."

Then I thought, what had I just gotten myself into?

**A/N: Hmm... Not my favorite chapter. Let me know what you think. PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay... So I'm too lazy to answer all my reviews individually and I feel bad about that. So THANK YOU!!! to everyone who has reviewed so far, and any random people that are just reading. Anyways, let's get on with the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I am not JKR and sadly, I never shall be.**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Eleven**

By the next afternoon, Tuesday, it seemed as if the whole school knew that I was now sort of dating Austin Stewart. He didn't deny it. I tried to, but only half-heartedly, and no one seemed to believe me no matter what I said. The only ones who didn't _want_ to believe that I was dating Austin were my friends. We all sat on the beds in our dormitory, the three of them looking highly disappointed in me.

"What?" I asked.

"Lily, I really don't think you should be going out with Austin," Natasha said. Claudia and Karen nodded in agreement.

"Why?" I asked in surprise. They'd admired him before. Every girl did.

"Because James just rejected you," Karen said bluntly. "Don't you even know what that means?"

"What?"

"You're on the rebound," Claudia informed me. "Rebound relationships don't work out."

"I am not on the rebound," I said, laughing. The three of them eyed me.

"Really?" Karen asked. "Then what's with the sudden interest in Austin?"

"'Sudden interest'?" I repeated. Karen nodded. "We've all been 'interested' in him since we met him!"

"That's not the point," Claudia interjected. "We mean you never really thought about going after him until now. You're on the rebound! This is not going to end well. You shouldn't even start it!"

"Too late," I snorted. "It's started."

"Lily, this isn't a joke," Natasha said seriously. "You're just going to hurt yourself more doing this. You hardly even know him!"

"I know him better than you do," I snapped.

My friends looked at me in shock. We never fought like this. I had been a little frustrated recently because of James, and they knew that, but we _never_ fought. I felt bad for yelling at them, but I was tired of them trying to control what I was doing. Maybe they thought they knew what was best for me, but I knew better than they did what I needed.

"We're just trying to help you," Karen replied angrily.

"Well I don't need your help!" I growled. I stood up. "You may think you know what I need, but you don't! It's my life. So just leave me alone."

"Fine," Claudia grumbled. "Go ruin your life. See if we care."

I didn't reply. Instead I stormed out of the room, hair flying out behind me. I could hear the three of them muttering about me as I left. I stomped down the stairs and into the common room, which was pretty crowded. James, Sirius, and Remus sat in one corner. They watched me as I rushed past. I didn't care. I was too angry.

I shoved my way out of the common room and into the empty hall way. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. So I decided to go somewhere most people avoided. The library. When I got there it was so quiet and felt so peaceful that my anger began to ebb away. I pulled a random book off the shelf and began to read. Soon I was feeling much better. When I lowered my book, I saw Remus coming in. I wasn't wary until I saw Sirius following him.

They came over to my table, as I knew they would. They sat down in front of me. "Lily," Remus said. I said hello. Sirius nodded at me. I ignored him. "What's up?" I asked.

"Lily, we need to talk to you," Remus said.

"About what?" I was a little afraid now. Down inside me, I knew exactly what they were going to say, but I didn't let myself think about it.

"It's James," Sirius broke in. "He's miserable, Evans."

"And I should care because...?"

"Lily," Remus sighed. "We both know you care about James. Don't deny it to yourself. You're just as miserable as he is. I can see it in your eyes."

"I'm not miserable," I lied. He could tell.

"Admitting is the first step to overcoming," Remus told me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not in denial, I'm not miserable, and," I added, as Remus opened his mouth again, "I'm not on the rebound, so please don't start about Austin."

Remus and Sirius exchanged glances. I knew what they were thinking. "Look Lily," Remus said hesitantly, "I know it's really none of my business-"

"Right for once," I muttered.

He continued, "But I really think you should try and at least make up with James."

I snorted. "He won't even talk to me."

"We'll make him," Sirius said. He looked desperate. "Please, Lily. Just do it. He's my best friend. I can't stand seeing him hurt like this."

"No," I said firmly. "I'm not doing this."

"Please," Sirius pleaded. I never thought I would see the day when Sirius Black begged me for something. It was almost enough for me to say yes. But not quite.

"Not going to happen." I stood up and left the library. I could feel their gazes watching me as I left. As I exited the library, I crashed into someone. When I looked up, it was Austin. I wasn't too surprised to see him. All day he'd been following me around. He would meet me after class and walk me to the next one. It was a little annoying, actually. "Oh, hi," I said dully. It wasn't that I wasn't happy to see him, but I was thoroughly annoyed with all of my friends.

"Hey, Lily," he said brightly. "What's wrong?"

"James Potter just keeps coming back to bite me in the butt," I grumbled. Austin gave me a strange look and I added, "Figuratively."

"Ah," Austin said. He looked at me. "So what's the story with you and James? I keep hearing stuff around school."

"I don't really feel like talking about it," I said quietly.

"Please?" Austin looked at me with pleading eyes. "You'll feel better once you tell someone."

"I've told plenty of people, and I don't feel any better," I said. He looked at me again, and I sighed. "Fine." I told him everything that had passed between James and I. As I was telling him about all the flowers James had sent me, I saw his eyes gleam with jealousy. I tried to ignore the protective look he was now wearing. I didn't need protection. I wasn't a ten-year-old.

"And he won't leave you alone?" Austin asked.

"No, he won't talk to me," I corrected. "It's our friends that won't leave me alone. My friends are bugging me, his friends are bugging me. Sometimes I just want to curse the lot of them."

Austin chuckled. "That would be amusing to watch," he said.

"Don't get use to the idea," I replied. "I'm not actually going to do it."

"Why not?" Austin became serious. "It sounds to me like they deserve it."

I looked at him, my mouth dropped open. "Because they're my _friends_! Sure, they may be annoying sometimes, but I'm not going to curse them."

"I'd do it," Austin said haughtily.

"What are you?" I nearly cried. "A Slytherin?"

Austin looked at me, aghast. "No! I'm not cruel."

"Really?" I snapped. "Could have fooled me." I turned quickly on my heel and marched away. That was another relationship down the tube. No way was it going to work out after what he'd just said. I wasn't going to date some malicious boy like Austin. I sighed. I guess it was time to apologize to my friends.

I headed back up to the Gryffindor common room and muttered the password to the portrait of the fat lady. She gave me what looked like a sympathetic smile and swung open for me. I climbed into the hole that was hidden behind her and entered the common room. Before I could take more than two steps, James appeared in front of me.

"Er, hi," he said nervously.

"Hi?" It came out as a question, but I hadn't meant for it to.

"I think maybe we should talk," he said quietly. I nodded, unable to speak. "Come with me." And he lead me out of the common room.

**A/N: Blah... Please review! I need to know this wasn't a completely horrible chapter. Thanks! (:**

**Love,**

**This Author Person Face**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Umm... Well, as stupid as this may sound, I kind of forgot about the fanfiction... So that's why I haven't updated in... Well, a while longer than usual. Anyways, thank you everyone for your reviews. :3 So here is the next chapter.**

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Twelve**

I followed James out of the common room, feeling kind of awkward. He led me to the nearest empty classroom and then turned around to face me. I closed the door and sat down on a desk. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to tell you... I think we should stop fighting."

"Oh." I felt a twist of disappointment, but I ignored it. "Yeah, I think we should, too."

James nodded. "Okay," he said. He watched me for a moment, and there was something in his eyes that I couldn't figure out. He sighed. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah," I said. "Sure."

We walked out of the classroom together, and while he went off in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower, I wandered in the other direction, lost in thought. Why had that conversation disappointed me so much? I pondered it, tossing it around in my head for about an hour, when I finally realized how stupid I was being. Of course I knew why it disappointed me. I still liked him. And I had gotten my hopes up, only to have them crushed, again.

I wandered my way back to the common room, where it was quieter than earlier. It was getting late, so people were starting to go to bed. Since it was a school night, after all. I climbed the stairs to find my friends huddled in a small group, whispering. They fell silent when they saw me.

I went over to them. Karen glared at me, but Natasha and Claudia looked civil. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," I said. "You were right."

Karen's anger seemed to fade. And at least none of them had to rub it in by saying "I told you so." They gave me silent acceptance of apologies and we all hugged. Then Claudia piped up. "So what happened?"

"Well, I was still mad at you three," I admitted. "And I was kind of venting to Austin. I said I wish I could hex you all every once in a while." They nodded in agreement. We all felt it at one time or another. "And Austin said I _should_ hex you all."

"Are you kidding?" Karen asked. I shook my head. Karen made a fist. "That little-"

Natasha stopped her. Claudia gave me a wide-eyed look. "He really said that?"

"Yes."

"What did you say?"

"Well, first I called him a Slytherin-" I was cut off when they laughed. It didn't seem like much of an insult on the outside, but a lot of people would rather jump off a cliff than be a Slytherin. I had the feeling that Austin was one of those people. "Then I kind of walked away. I didn't want to do anything drastic."

"I think you should have," Karen muttered.

"Maybe," Claudia agreed. "You should get him back, though."

"How?" I asked. I didn't mention that Austin really hadn't done anything, because no matter what I said, they weren't going to give up on their new-found idea.

"We'll think of something," Natasha promised me. I yawned loudly then, and decided to go to sleep. I was tired, more so than I thought I was. I left my friends to change into my pajamas and then crawled into bed. I fell asleep to the sounds of their whispers.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The next morning, I was surprised to wake up to my friends surrounding my bed. I looked at my watch, and saw that it was fairly late. I had gone to bed early and slept in a lot later than usual. I yawned again and sat up. I must have been tired. Or else, trying to avoid the real world. I got up and dressed, and the four of us went downstairs to breakfast.

It was a rather quiet affair. I was too sleepy to say anything, and the rest of them were too hungry. I ate slower than they did, and it took me longer than usual to eat all my food. I kept trying to figure out why I was so tired, but my brain was being sluggish. This would not be helpful during class.

Instead of paying attention in my classes, I merely spent the day trying to stay awake. I was so tired. Halfway through the day, right after lunch, I got a horrible headache. I ignored it and went to class. We weren't working on anything too important, so I took a seat in the back, lowered my head, and went to sleep. I was awakened about forty-five minutes later by the teacher.

"Miss Evans," he said, "You look terrible. I think you should go to the hospital wing."

I shook my head. "I can't," I said feebly. "I have to go to class."

He shook his head. "Off you go," he said firmly. Sighing, I packed my bag, but I didn't go to the hospital wing. Instead, I went back to the common room so I could relax on the couch until my next class. It was empty when I entered and I flopped gratefully onto the couch. I tried to stay awake, but my eyes fluttered closed and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, there was only five minutes until classes ended and I would have to go to my next class. My head felt fuzzy, but it hurt at the same time. My throat was a little scratchy, and I coughed as soon as I sat up. I sighed. I was sick. And it was a cold, too, so there was nothing the nurse could do but give me a nasty tasting potion that would only make me feel a little better. So I decided not to go the Hospital Wing.

I gathered up my things and was about to leave the common room when James entered. My head hurt too much to wonder why he was here, instead of in class. "Lily?" he asked, looking at me in surprise.

"What?"

"You look terrible."

"I feel terrible," I admitted, adjusting my bag.

"You're not going to class, are you?" James eyed my bag.

"Of course I am," I snapped. "I'm fine."

"But you just-"

"Forget it," I advised him. "I'm going to class."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

"Yes!" I tried to get past him and to the portrait hole, but he wouldn't let me by. Angry, I backed up. "Look, just because we're not fighting anymore doesn't mean I need you to tell me what to do."

"I'm just trying to help you," James said softly.

"I don't need your help! I'm fine!" But my voice cracked, proving to him that I was, indeed, not fine at all. I was sick, and we both knew it. But I had to go to class. I couldn't miss anything! I would fall behind and then everything would be ruined. I tried to tell James this, but he wouldn't listen.

"Come on," he said, taking my bag from me. I decided it was best to stop fighting him. He took my arm and led me over to the stairs that led up to the girl's dormitory. He didn't have to say anything. I knew he couldn't escort me upstairs.

"Oh, too bad," I said, coughing a bit. "Looks like I'll have to go to class after all."

"No," James said, smiling. "I'm going to make sure you get up there."

"How?" I asked. I planted my hands on my hips.

He didn't reply. Instead, he flicked his wand, and we waited for a moment. Then his broom came zooming down the stairs from his dormitory. He caught it and led me back over to the stairs. He got on, still gripping my arm. He bobbed in the air, extremely low, and led me up the stairs. Though I grumbled the entire way, I couldn't help but think he'd had a rather smart idea.

When we were past the stairs, he got off his broom. We entered my dormitory and he pointed me to my bed. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my pajamas and went into the bathroom to change. I took my time, hoping he would be gone when I came out. No such luck. I climbed into my bed, the cool sheets feeling nice against my skin. He sat down at the foot of my bed and said, "Sleep."

"I'm not tired," I said, even though I was. After all the sleeping I had already done today, I was still extremely tired. My eyelids were beginning to droop. "Just go away, Potter."

"Not until you go to sleep," he said. I closed my eyes obediently and my breathing relaxed. I was beginning to fall into a black softness, when I felt James move. Still half-asleep, I ignored it. He thought I was asleep, obviously, which meant he was leaving. Somewhere in my dream-state, I felt a twinge of disappointment. So I was surprised when I suddenly felt him next to me. He bent over me and kissed me gently on the cheek. I felt an odd swooping sensation in my stomach, but I still didn't open my eyes. He watched me for a moment, then left.

Barely a minute later, Karen banged into the room, Claudia and Natasha at her heels. She didn't seem to care that I was sleeping, or trying to at least, because she was screeching. "What was James Potter doing up here?"

I sat up, coughing, and said, "What?"

"James Potter," Karen repeated. "Why was he up here? And why are you sleeping?"

"I'm sick," I told them. As if it wasn't obvious.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"He forced me into bed. He wouldn't let me go to class. He came up here to make sure I went to sleep," I informed them.

"Oh." Karen's expression changed. "Well."

Claudia took Karen's arm. "Maybe we should let Lily rest. She doesn't look so good." Karen nodded, and she and Claudia left. Natasha hung back and said, "I hope you feel better, Lils."

"Thanks," I said, lying back down. I got comfortable, and Natasha left also. I closed my eyes, relaxing again. As I was drifting off to sleep again, my thoughts returned to James. And he was what I fell asleep thinking about.

**A/N: Hmm... This actually wasn't what I had planned for the chapter, I'd wanted to do something else, but then I started talking about Lily being tired and I was like, ooh, maybe Austin did something to her. But she decided to be sick. Yes, she runs my mind. I have no control over her. Anyways, please review and I'll love you forever! Thanks!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I know fanfiction was being stupid this weekend, so I'm glad I got any reviews at all. Anyhoo, here is the next chapter. **

**A Midnight Rose**

**Chapter Thirteen**

The next day, I was still feeling sick. My friends made me promise to stay in bed, and they would explain my condition to the teachers and pick up my homework. I thanked them and leaned back against my pillows, preparing myself for an extremely boring day. The girls returned from breakfast for a few minutes with a plate for me and a new book from the library. I ate slowly and then cracked the book open for about an hour. After a while, I tossed it to the foot of my bed, bored.

I didn't know what else to do, so I lay back on my pillow and closed my eyes. After a while of tossing and turning, I glanced at the clock. It was the end of the first classes, and the second classes of the day would be starting soon. Maybe I should get up and dress and sneak down to class. I was throwing back the covers when the door opened. I quickly lay down again, but I was a little relieved when I saw that it was James.

"What are you doing here?" I asked with false anger.

"I noticed you weren't in class," he explained. "I figured you would be up here, boring yourself to death."

"You figured right," I grimaced. "There's nothing to do."

"That's why I came up," he said brightly. "I didn't want you to die of boredom, so I decided to do something about it."

"Like what?" I asked warily.

"I just thought I'd entertain you."

"How?" I raised my eyebrows.

"We can just talk," he said. "Haven't you realized that we've never had a real conversation before? It's always fighting or just a few sentences."

Come to think of it, I really hadn't noticed that James and I never really talked so much as fought. But I didn't answer his question. Instead, I let him continue. He asked me questions, like what my favorite color was, and I answered them easily. It was a little odd, but I didn't mind at the least.

Then he fell silent. We were both quiet for several minutes, each lost in our own thoughts. Then, "Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"I think we should be friends."

"Okay," I said slowly. I gestured between us. "Aren't we sort of already friends?"

James nodded. "I just mean, we should announce our friendship. Lily Evans, I am friends with you."

I giggled. He looked so... Well, rather stupid, but funny at the same time. He scowled at me playfully. "It's not nice to laugh at people."

"Why?" I asked. "You do it all the time." He had no response to this, so I added, "Practice what you preach, hypocrite."

"Alright, alright," he said, raising his hands in defeat. I watched him, as he stared at my bedspread, fingering it as a distraction. He felt my gaze and looked up to meet my eyes. Butterflies went wild in my stomach, it was a feeling that I never wanted to go away. We looked at each for a moment, eyes locked, and then he leaned over and kissed me on the lips. It was soft, sweet, and short. When he broke away from me, his face turned red with embarrassment.

"I should leave," he said quietly.

"James-" I started, but he interrupted me.

"I'll see you later, Lily," he said. He stood up and left the room. I felt my stomach drop in disappointment. What had I done that scared him off?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The next day I was feeling much better, but I was still upset. My friends didn't notice, because I tried not to let it show. James ignored me in the common room when I tried to meet his eye, so I went to class in a bit of a foul mood. I was so distracted in Transfiguration, that McGonagall had to call me out in front of the entire class.

"Miss Evans, what is the matter with you today?"

"I'm sorry, Professor," I said miserably. "I'm just distracted."

"I can see that," she said dryly. "Please, try to pay attention now."

"Yes, Professor."

This happened several times throughout the day. My teachers couldn't understand why I was so distracted, and I didn't bother trying to explain it to them. I was sixteen. What did they care about my problems? After class, I moped in the common room. My friends had finally noticed my mood. Karen tried asking what was wrong, but all I did was growl at her. She left me alone after that.

I was standing up to go to bed when Remus approached me. "Hi, Lily."

"Hello, Remus," I sighed.

"I, er, have a message to give you."

"Really?" I asked. "What?"

"James wants you to meet him out on the grounds at midnight tonight. He has something to say to you," Remus told me.

"He can say, 'I don't want to talk to you anymore' just as well in here, right now, as he can outside at midnight."

"Please, Lily," Remus said. "Just come."

"Fine." I pushed past him and went upstairs. I flopped onto my bed and lay awake for a long time, wondering what James wanted to tell me. By the time midnight rolled around, Natasha, Claudia, Karen, and our roommate had already come in and gone to sleep. Each time one of them had entered, I'd pretended to be asleep. At 11:30, I got up and dressed. At 11:45, I slowly made my way downstairs and over to the window I'd used to sneak out the first time James wanted to see me.

I lifted the window open slowly and lifted myself up and out. I dropped onto the ground outside with a rather loud huff. I glanced around, wondering where it was James had wanted me to meet him. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he appeared suddenly beside me, holding a silky cloak. "Don't do that!" I hissed, feeling I'd said that to him about a million times before. "What do you want?"

"To show you something," he said. He took my arm and led me away from the castle, down towards the Forbidden Forest. Feeling nervous, I yanked my arm away.

"I am _not_ going into the Forbidden Forest."

"Relax," James said, taking my hand this time. "We're not going into the forest. Just near it."

"For what?" I persisted.

"You'll see." I could see him hiding a smile in the moonlight.

When we got to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, I could see what James had wanted to show me; I just didn't understand what it was for. A ring of purple lilies stood on the outside of the forest, and the trees behind it were decorated with twinkling lights. I didn't ask James how he'd managed to pull that off. He led me into the ring of flowers, and I then noticed conjured butterflies and birds darting around.

"What are you-?"

"Just wait," he said.

I waited. James took my other hand, so he was holding both, and asked, "Lily, would you be my girlfriend?" On cue, the lilies around us began to sing. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't care. Like all the others times James had talked to me that year, I was speechless. I looked around at everything he'd done for me and I felt tears trickle down my cheek. It was all too much.

James looked alarmed. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

I shook my head, still unable to speak. Taking a deep breath, I said, "You did everything perfect."

This made him brighten. "Really?"

"Really." I pulled my hands out of his and slipped them around his neck. "I'd love to be your girlfriend." I felt his arms encircle my waist and he hugged me back. We stood for a few minutes, and then he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling me. "I love you, Lily Evans."

**A/N: THE END!**

**And that, my folks, is truly, the end. But if you guys REALLY love me, you'll get me up to 100 reviews for this story! As soon as that happens, I'll start another story. I have a great one in mind. (: It's going to be fantastic! And it'll be my first time writing something that's truly a rated T fiction. q: So I hope you enjoyed my story. I had fun writing it.**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


End file.
